[lovecars21]

Amazing Travelogue with great pictures!! Rated 10 stars
What a way to celebrate 10 years of togetherness. Both of you are my Inspiration.
Sumitro da I am proud to say that I am a big fan of yours since the time I started following T-bhp.
Wish both of you many many more miles together.

[1100D]

A very crisp and captivating account of the whole trip. You are an inspiration to follow! Hope will catch up someday. Till then, Keep the tempo!

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

It was our 10th marriage anniversary and we wanted it to be special. Boss had other plans and all my leave requests were rejected. Suddenly I felt like the most valuable employee of the company. On hind sight it was the best thing that could have happened. If I had got the leaves on time, we would have missed the snow in Himachal and Uttarakhand.

Congrats on a decade of togetherness and here is wishing many more years and miles to come. Ofcourse the resultant travelogues to uplift our average lives and morale on a workday!!

Looks like we have to thank your Boss!

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Stopped for a few pictures at Sadhupul, a picnic spot by the stream named Ashwani.

Sadhupul is particularly nice, especially the whole idea of having lunch with feet dipped in Ashwani was very refreshing. However, I guess the time you visited, the very thought itself would result in instant pneumonia.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Day 4 continued...

All the good reviews were pointing towards Chitkul, 240 kilometers from Mashobra. Google was showing a drive time of 6.5 hours. This was a bit too much as we had to come back to Mashobra the same day. 500 kilometers of travel in a day in the hills is something we had not done before and I was skeptical.

Pictures do not do justice to Chitkul. One must visit this place in winter.

We spent around 30 minutes in Chitkul.

My guess is that, you would have liked it more if you probably gave one more day to the Chitkul trip.

Although night stay options at Chitkul is sub-par/optimal, but atleast a wake up at Rakcham, probably at the cost of eating up a later nightstay somewhere else, would have been very pleasant. That Sangla-Rakcham-Chitkul stretch being very Alpine in nature.

But I guess, I am sure, you had your constraints and its easy for an outsider to chip in with comments in hindsight.

All in all, superb thread/travelogue.

[A.G.The Rambler]

Very nice log Sumitro and most of the pictures you have put up proves you are more than an average photographer. Loved every bit of it. Added to my wish list. .

Rs 289 for the services as well as the cleaning of the vehicle is a shocking amount. I am still trying to visualize the itemized breakdown of that bill.

[ShellZee]

A very well composed travelogue, was a delight to read. You have motivated me to pen down one of my own, a trip I took recently. Chandigarh-Jaipur-Ahemadabad-Pune-Goa-Hyderabad-Nagpur-Bhopal-Chandigarh with 7 days in Goa and about the same in Hyderabad. A total of 7K KM. Did the trip in my XUV which was a delight to drive and was mostly fatigue free except for the last leg from Bhopal to Chandigarh, a drive of almost 1100 KM.
And also that I belong to Chandigarh and I am yet to explore the neighbouring hills the way you did. Kudos that you drove all the way from WB. I am presently based at Siliguri which again is a real delight for a compulsive traveller.

[wanderernomad]

Excellent narrative and pictures. Superb driving I must say. Doing Chitkul from Mashobra is some serious feat and that too in the Thar. Yes, from Solan to Nahan is beautiful and you should have taken the short detour to Renuka Lake and continued to Dhanolti via Staun, Mussoriee. Maybe Next Time. Seeing you cantering in my backyard is making me homesick. Cheers and Kudos bro.

[roadscorpio]

Congrats Blackpearl. Many dream it but few do it .. Having a partner to share your madness is a bonus anyday. I recently made a trip from Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jaipur-Delhi-Meerut-Rishikesh and back the same way to Mumbai. This was done in a diesel figo with 2 kids in tow. It was like a travelling circus but yes - we enjoyed every moment of it. I am inspired now to write a travelogue (wifey keeps pestering me about it)
Kudos, again and keep up the good work. BTW, amazing pics

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by ampere

Dont know what to praise: The beautiful white weather, or the White Thar!

Thanks ampere!

Originally Posted by v12

Excellent writeup and pics Blackpearl!! Seriously if it were not for the thread title - it would easily be mistaken as a US travelogie in Jeep Wrangler.

Thanks a lot v12, this is serious appreciation

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Great travelogue , that's some serious driving

Did you guys split driving duties ? having dinner in Delhi after a drive from hills and then driving all the way to Kolkata - definitely a commendable job.

Thanks Turbanator. Yes, we split driving duties and more so this time.

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Another one of those beautiful long drives and some records shattered again! The THAR takes the cake here.
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary and wishing you all the happiness (including more travel, some cross country drive as well?) in the coming years.

Rated 5*.

Thanks gearhead_mait!

Originally Posted by Uprasenjit

I can only dream of these distances

Lovely photos and travelogue as usual. You travelogues has always been an inspiration to many like me.

You had lunch at a dhaba ?

Lol, the rate at which you are travelling, you will do far more longer distances in the near future. Thanks for the nice words and yes I had hearty meals at dhabas and there is nothing to laugh ;-)

Originally Posted by DrANTO

Dear Blackpearl,

Congrats for an excellent travelogue and photos. I love your Thar.When I first read your ownership review, I didn't like colour of your Thar.But seeing the pictures of your Thar in this thread made me fall in love with it. You have got an amazing ride brother.

Regards.

Thanks a lot DrANTO. This colour was not my first choice but I have gradually started loving it.

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

BlackPearl, a White THAR and Himachal in the Winters is itself a lethal combination !! I am in awe with the modesty and the crispness in your travelogues. Very well written with some awesome pictures which indeed narrate your wonderful experience Congratulations to you as it makes to the Homepage. Rated a 5 Star !!

Himachal is indeed a very pristine state with a lot of cleanliness. Your Travelogue took me back in time to my road trip from Jaipur to Himachal which we did in May 2010 where we covered Shimla, Chail, Kufri, Manali, Solan & Rohtang. We were indeed blessed to find a good quantum of snow in this trip like never before. Sharing some pictures of a White Himachal through my eyes :

Keep writing such wonderful Travelogues BlackPearl and keep inspiring the community as you always have had. Kudos to you mate !!

Thanks a lot Arav for the wonderful words and nice pictures. You look strange without your french cut :-D

Originally Posted by Red Panda

Wonderful travelogue and lovely photographs. 10th year of togetherness well spent. You guys are an inspiration.

Warm regards and best wishes
Avishek.

Thanks a lot Avishek!

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

This particular image of yours brings out the very essence of a road trip. Relaxed, serene and ample time to laze around.

All of a sudden, it brought back one sweet memory of our East Sikkim trip.

Attachment 1465631

Thanks Soumyajit, lovely pic.

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

Beautiful travelogue to say the least. That's a hell lot of kilometers covered in such a short time span. Short is really sweet, so are the photographs. Some excellent landscapes truly deserve a print and a wall hung. The Thar is truly a no nonsense vehicle. Rated.

Thanks Himadri Sir!

Originally Posted by SouraC

Now this is Bad..

A person who can write this crisp a Travelogue which inspires a lot of folks like us and also can take pictures which makes us grasping should never write.

Surely you should start training friends and colleagues how to complete a 2 week trip in 9 days (Whatever might be the reason). It will be a smash hit and lot of people will be standing at your front door to register themselves.

Jokes apart, wish you many more Anniversary runs which will enrich us with more Travelogues. As usual, I am again mighty impressed by your driving abilities, tenacity and photographic skills.
In my opinion those massive distances covered in a single drive should come with some restraint advisory for keeping you fellow enthusiasts safe.

As finale, I should repeat AJ’s words..

No, this is bad Soura, you should not be heaping so much praise on one person that his feet are not grounded anymore!! This in plain Bengali is called "Bar Khawano"

Originally Posted by Samba

Wonderful travelogue with equally beautiful pics. Rated 5*. White Thar in white snow looks gorgeous!

Your travelogue brings back our memory of Himachal trip way back in 2005. Right now i do not have the pics of our trip but i can share two screen shots from the video we took during that trip.

Thanks a lot Samba!

Originally Posted by lovecars21

Amazing Travelogue with great pictures!! Rated 10 stars
What a way to celebrate 10 years of togetherness. Both of you are my Inspiration.
Sumitro da I am proud to say that I am a big fan of yours since the time I started following T-bhp.
Wish both of you many many more miles together.

Thanks a lot Arun! You may have not realised that you too are an inspiration to a lot of people including me. Waiting for your Sandkphu travelogue.

Originally Posted by 1100D

A very crisp and captivating account of the whole trip. You are an inspiration to follow! Hope will catch up someday. Till then, Keep the tempo!

Congrats on a decade of togetherness and here is wishing many more years and miles to come. Ofcourse the resultant travelogues to uplift our average lives and morale on a workday!!

Looks like we have to thank your Boss!

Sadhupul is particularly nice, especially the whole idea of having lunch with feet dipped in Ashwani was very refreshing. However, I guess the time you visited, the very thought itself would result in instant pneumonia.

My guess is that, you would have liked it more if you probably gave one more day to the Chitkul trip.

Although night stay options at Chitkul is sub-par/optimal, but atleast a wake up at Rakcham, probably at the cost of eating up a later nightstay somewhere else, would have been very pleasant. That Sangla-Rakcham-Chitkul stretch being very Alpine in nature.

But I guess, I am sure, you had your constraints and its easy for an outsider to chip in with comments in hindsight.

All in all, superb thread/travelogue.

Thanks a lot 1100D, will surely catch up someday. As I have told many times on this forum, I owe a lot to you for helping me get my first 4WD vehicle.
Though I love the mountains I cannot stand too much cold. If I had stayed back at Chitkul for one night I am sure I would not be writing this travelogue :-D

Originally Posted by A.G.The Rambler

Very nice log Sumitro and most of the pictures you have put up proves you are more than an average photographer. Loved every bit of it. Added to my wish list. .

Rs 289 for the services as well as the cleaning of the vehicle is a shocking amount. I am still trying to visualize the itemized breakdown of that bill.

Thanks a lot Anish! Yes both me and my wife were surprised at the bill. I will try to get a pic of the bill and post it here. As far as I remember they did not charge anything for cleaning the vehicle. Rs 200 out of it was charged for rotating the tyres.

Originally Posted by ShellZee

A very well composed travelogue, was a delight to read. You have motivated me to pen down one of my own, a trip I took recently. Chandigarh-Jaipur-Ahemadabad-Pune-Goa-Hyderabad-Nagpur-Bhopal-Chandigarh with 7 days in Goa and about the same in Hyderabad. A total of 7K KM. Did the trip in my XUV which was a delight to drive and was mostly fatigue free except for the last leg from Bhopal to Chandigarh, a drive of almost 1100 KM.
And also that I belong to Chandigarh and I am yet to explore the neighbouring hills the way you did. Kudos that you drove all the way from WB. I am presently based at Siliguri which again is a real delight for a compulsive traveller.

Thanks a lot ShellZee. Will try to catch up with you next time I am in Siliguri.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Excellent narrative and pictures. Superb driving I must say. Doing Chitkul from Mashobra is some serious feat and that too in the Thar. Yes, from Solan to Nahan is beautiful and you should have taken the short detour to Renuka Lake and continued to Dhanolti via Staun, Mussoriee. Maybe Next Time. Seeing you cantering in my backyard is making me homesick. Cheers and Kudos bro.

Thanks wandernomad. Will try to take the route you mentioned. There is always a next time.

Originally Posted by roadscorpio

Congrats Blackpearl. Many dream it but few do it .. Having a partner to share your madness is a bonus anyday. I recently made a trip from Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jaipur-Delhi-Meerut-Rishikesh and back the same way to Mumbai. This was done in a diesel figo with 2 kids in tow. It was like a travelling circus but yes - we enjoyed every moment of it. I am inspired now to write a travelogue (wifey keeps pestering me about it)
Kudos, again and keep up the good work. BTW, amazing pics

Thanks roadscorpio. Please do take some time out and pen down the travelogue.

[Sheel]

Who said you can not take good photographs? And your decade old camera still does good duty.

Beautiful narration, pictures and darn good distances covered. And my best wishes on a decade of togetherness

[Jose.solorider]

Nice travelogue Dada , we Bengali's have a passion for traveling and that was very evident from your trip.

[mi2n]

Almost 2000 kilometers at a stretch! Kudos to your endurance! With the white Thar at the center stage you really do not need any better gear/skill for the photos to remain etched in the minds of us readers. Belated congratulations on your 10th anniversary and here's hoping you find many such reasons to travel and awe us with such amazing travelogues.

[swami69]

Fantastic Travelogue and wonderful pictures. The Thar is too good and I am very happy I have one as well. You are a master of doing long drives !

Swami

[SS-Traveller]

A beautifully described travelogue with equally tempting photographs, which are worth savouring over and over again. I just read through the t'log a second time now.

Then I read the bit right at the end about...

The trip itinerary in short -
Day 1 and 2 : Kolkata - Kandaghat (1850 kms)...
Day 8 and 9: Kanatal - Kolkata (1750 kms)

...and I suddenly come to my senses - how many years has it been, that I've spent 34+ hours at the wheel, on the road, powernapping at dhabas, driving on irrespective of weather conditions...? Somehow, your travelogue forces me to believe I am getting old! Really got to do something about it soon. Just you wait!

And this was downright embarrassing...

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Called up team-bhp helpline and it was answered by DBhpian SS-Traveler. He suggested to interchange the front wheels with the rear...
...one of the bolts of the lower arm on one side had fallen off and another one on the other side was just about to fall off

Heck, suspension bolts working loose and falling off soon after you change wheels and tyres, leading to a steering wobble - that's a bigger puzzle than a 5-star Sudoku! Glad nothing happened, but then, it's a learning experience for me too.

I thought you knew us a little better than that...

I was in contact with SS-Traveler throughout the journey and even got an invitation to take a quick nap at his home. ... we did not find it prudent to barge into somebody's house in the middle of the night. After Delhi we encountered heavy fog.

...but obviously you wanted to try out on your own all the gyan detailed here!

You travelled...

Day 6 - Mashobra-Solan-Nahan-Paonta Sahib-Dehradun-Mussoorie-Dhanolti

...i.e. https://goo.gl/maps/akUo8umFz6r, though my favourite route is https://goo.gl/maps/JWAUw2ab4gG2 if in a 4wd or high-GC vehicle. Well, there's always a next time!

And one last thought...

We had a dinner date with the Delhi bhpians at Karim's
....
We will be ever grateful to the bhpians for lovely treat and the warmth and affection that they showed.

This is getting to be a habit and needs curtailment, because...

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

SSTraveller and PredatorWheelz treated us with an unforgettable dinner of rann and bada kebabs at Kareem's in old Delhi (We are forever indebted to SSTraveler and PredatorWheelz!)

We're running up too high a credit score, methinks. Until Karim's gives us a discount soon enough for Team-BHP Kolkata Chapter meats, this practice will become quite unaffordable too.

[gurthvader]

Happy Returns!!!
Its your anniversary
&
we get the gift...

A very well written travelogue

crisp, to the point & thoroughly entertaining.
Tapri Sangla Chitkul, the roads are bad & the drive slow but the landscape more than makes up for it.

although i recently did this while going to Spiti but after reading your travelogue, i feel like going back there again

& yes---your THAR looks- gorgeous

[Aakarsh]

Hello BlackPearl!
Loved each and every bit of your travelogue. Your Thar looks amazing and the pictures were just awesome. Keep your travelogues coming and keep inspiring us.

Regards
Aakarsh

[zee_bat]

Reading this beautiful travelogue inspires me to take the girlfriend out to the Himalayas soon as well, your day 1&2/8&9 leaves no excuse for us dilliwalas to not take such trips more often! The white Thar looks exquisite!